Welcome to On Deafness. These are my two amazing children, Micah and Bella. Although my husband and I have no deafness in our family history, Micah is profoundly deaf and Bella is hard-of-hearing. Go figure! Our family was destined to navigate the deaf world, and in the process, we’ve learned a lot about deaf education and the deaf community. When I started this journey, I knew nothing about deafness or raising a deaf child.
In the years that followed, I endeavored to learn American Sign Language, launched a non-profit to teach cottage industries to deaf students and mothers of deaf children in third-world countries, and worked at The Family Center on Deafness, a non-profit organization serving the deaf in Pinellas County, Florida. As their parent support specialist, it was my hope to help parents like me discover resources available to them and their children.
In the summer of 2018, my family relocated to St. Augustine, in order for my son to attend the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind (FSDB). There, I co-authored the curriculum for a Parent Empowerment Program to create a supportive family network and provide resources for education and advocacy.
According to research conducted at the University of Glasgow, “parents with children with special needs are uniquely qualified to help one another cope with feelings of isolation, despair, and anxiety. These parents act as buffers and they provide much needed emotional, social, and practical support.” Here, I share the lessons we’ve learned along the way.
Today, our daughter Bella works as a speech-language assistant. She is trilingual, working in English, Spanish, and ASL. Our son is a recent high school graduate, currently enrolled in culinary school. Incredibly proud of their achievements, our road was not always smooth, and in the beginning, especially, I felt lost and desperate for help.
On Deafness is my attempt to provide the resources I needed when our children were first identified as having hearing differences. Here, I document our transition from mainstream schools to a state residential school, and into post-high school, young-adult life.
My desire is to encourage and support parents, and to provide a safe forum where we can share our stories and experiences. I believe we can foster a joyful, healthy community for our kids, and by joining our voices and our lived experiences, I believe we can be a powerful tool for hope and advocacy.
I invite you to add your voice to our tribe.
On Deafness 
Hi
I really enjoyed reading this article about your son who is implanted
I work in a school for the deaf and I’m wondering if I was able to share your article with the parents of the young deaf children that I teach? As I think it is important that parents hear (?) another parents perspective
Thanks
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Thank you Rowena! Please feel free to share my blog with the families you work with. All the best to them and their children 🙂
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Wow. I just read your article in The NY Times and am in tears. So moved by you sharing. So brave of you and so important. My son, Ami, is close to 5 years old. He was born profoundly deaf and has CIs, but we also sign. He goes to a public school for ASL and we are making sure he will be bilingual. We are committed to making sure he can embrace his Deaf identity, even in a hearing daily. I could not agree more that doctors and audiologist need to be more positive about and supportive of signing. It is crazy to me that, in this day and age, there are still people who preach ”all speech, no Sign’. Thank you for helping spread the word.
With love to you and your family,
Shayna
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Thank you Shayna! I really appreciate your encouragement, and I’m so thankful that you and your son Ami are using all the tools available to him to thrive–both ASL and CI’s. You are an exceptional mom, and Ami is so fortunate to have you in his corner. I wish you and your family the very best!
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